Civil Plaintiff

A Missouri County Will Pay $1.2 Million to Settle a Lawsuit Over Inmate Restraint Death

Missouri’s second-largest county will pay a $1.2 million settlement to the parents of a 21-year-old man with mental health concerns who, according to a lawsuit, screamed “I can’t breathe” as he was subdued by jail staff before dying in a restraint chair.

The Jackson County Legislature in Kansas City on Monday approved the settlement in the 2021 death of Marquis Wagner. John Picerno, the attorney for Wagner’s parents, said jail surveillance captured the events leading up to Wagner’s death. That video has not been made public.

The lawsuit named three jail guards and two companies that the county contracts with for health care. The settlement is only with Jackson County. The case involving the two companies is scheduled for trial in September.

Read more at AP News

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